Black Market | Kim Taehyung ✓

eleven

[two weeks after the bidding]

"Mother, I don't want to have lunch with June. I'd rather relax in my room or in the garden," Taehyung protested.

"With Jae, I presume?" her mother asked with a cocked eyebrow.

Taehyung scowled. "With my kitten, sure. The point is I don't want to spend my time with June."

"The point is," his mother mocked, "you're going to spend time with your wife."

"She's not my damn wife yet!" Taehyung shouted.

Jae flinched from the corner he told her to wait in. She had no idea what was going on. Taehyung took her everywhere with him, but she didn't mind.

"She will be!" his mother shouted.

"Are you two arguing about the arranged marriage again?" his father asked as he walked into the room. "Sweetie, just let Taehyung be free. He's about to have his freedom stripped away by a woman."

Taehyung's mother looked deeply offended by what her husband said. The two started arguing with each other.

Taehyung sighed and turned away from his parents' argument. He grabbed Jae's wrist on the way out. Jae followed him, tripping over her own two feet for a while before he slowed down.

"Are you okay?" she whispered, afraid he was going to lash out.

"I'm fine," he stated, letting go of her wrist. "I would just rather spend my day as a free man in peace, but Mother insists on having me spend time with June."

"Who's June?" Jae asked.

Taehyung took a peek at her face before answering. "My fiancée. It's been arranged the moment I was born."

"Did you have a say on it? I'm sorry, you don't have to reply," she quickly added at the end.

"It's fine."

There it was again. The 'I'm fine' or 'It's fine.'

"I didn't have a choice. If you didn't notice in the hall a moment ago, I don't like having my future planned out for me—especially by my bastard mother," Taehyung spat out.

Jae wanted to console him, but she knew she couldn't. She didn't deserve to try and help someone else—especially her owner.